Couple marks 65 years of togetherness

JUST MARRIED: Ken and Norma on their wedding day in 1950.

When Norma and Ken Fisher decided to get married at age 18 and 21, most people told them it wouldn't last.

Norma wore a green dress and it was a quiet affair with a few friends and family gathering at Tauranga's registry office.

But more than half a century later they are celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary, sharing a few of their secrets to a long and happy marriage.

"Our secret was just being together and doing things together," Ken said.

They shared a love of the outdoors and adventure, wishing they could get back out with one of their three former motorhomes and travel New Zealand again.

"Every beach we saw we'd go," Norma said.

Ken added, "We covered 70,000km in the South Island. We used to have a lot of fun."

It was love at first sight for Ken, when he first spotted Norma at her sewing apprenticeship in Devonport Rd while he was working nearby.

"I looked at her and thought, 'She's my girl if I can get her'."

Norma remembered the day "the boys" first went into the shop.

"I was so shy," she said.

Once dating, Ken would cycle a 24km round trip from Tauranga to the top of Oropi just to see her.

"I was so keen to get her," he said.

Much to Ken's delight, Norma's mother had suggested the pair get married before she left for England, and the rest was history.

Sixty-five happy years, three children, eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren later and the two still look at each other with youthful love in their eyes.

"She's got a good attitude and nothing seems to worry her and I could tell that about her when I first met her," Ken said."

Norma said, "We've worked together.

"We've done everything together. It all worked out very well."

The couple will celebrate the milestone with friends and family at lunch tomorrow.